AudioFile's Inside Track

Audiobooks have definitely made the cultural radar when authors get their friends to create audiobooks.The New York Times reports on the do-it-yourself audio adventures of authors Julian Rubinstein, Greg Palast, and Adriana Trigiani.

THE ACE: Digital-only versions of these celeb-filled productions may well be a great way to expand the listening audience.

A major new audiobook award, the Odyssey Award, has been established by the American Library Association. In the realm of the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, the Odyssey is a major recognition of audiobooks by the ALA. The award will be selected by two divisions of the ALA--ALSC and YALSA--and will be given for an audiobook produced for children up to 18 years old. Titles published in 2007 will be eligible for the award. Booklist, the ALA's publication, is the sponsor of the Odyssey Award. Read more .

THE ACE: Several audio publishers, including Tim Ditlow and Bruce Coville, have worked tirelessly as advocates for this award. Thanks to them are due from all of us!

Audiofy, the maker of the tiny memory cards that hold up to 30 hours of audio content, announced beta software that transfers the audio programs to Apple iPod listening devices. The ChipZip runs on Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Mac OS X 10.3.9. Read more.

THE ACE: Publishers, want your content in Audiofy chips? Contact Dan Wagaman.

Digital media vendor OverDrive and Books on Tape signed an agreement for library distribution of BOT's Digital Collection that includes Listening Library and Living Language titles, as well as adult Books on Tape audiobooks. An initial list of 200 BOT titles will go into the program. Read more.

THE ACE: Overdrive is serving 3,000 libraries with downloadable titles. Is this fast enough change for you? Where's your digital content?

Seagrams is trying a new marketing partnership this summer--with Audible.com . Check it out here.

I'll take my audiobook with a Tahitian Sunset and Passionate Kiss. Promo Magazine has the full menu.

THE ACE: Where were these guys at the APAC cocktail party?

Preview Stephen King's short story STATIONARY BIKE on Audible.com until the official CD release date of June 6. Narrator Ron McLarty reads what Simon & Schuster calls "a fever dream of a tale."

THE ACE: Ron McLarty's novel THE MEMORY OF RUNNING rocketed to fame, and fortune (?), because of King's endorsement in Entertainment Weekly as "the best book you'll never read."

Foreword Magazine's 8th Annual "Book of the Year" Awards has two audio awards--Audio Fiction and Audio Nonfiction. Three Listen & Live Audio titles made the cut--one gold award for A FRACTURED MIND by Robert Oxnam and read by William Dufris, and two silver awards: JONNY MAGIC AND THE CARD SHARK KIDS written and read by David Kushner and PINNED by Listen & Live publisher Alfred Martino, read by Mark Shanahan.

THE ACE: Get your audio titles entered in Foreword's 2006 competition. Details here.

Picture books with accompanying CDs are getting nice attention from booksellers and families. Kidwick Books got a rave from the St. Louis Post Dispatch for their packaging of book and CD. Other audio publishers are following suit.

THE ACE: Did you check out Triplex Packaging's cool new CD/Book prototype at APAC?

Rabbit Ears are already popping up everywhere. Listening Library re-launched the amazing, award-winning Rabbit Ears line of children's storytelling at BookExpo. Starting at the end of August, the Rabbit Ears's production of THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, read by Meryl Streep, will be part of the Starbucks HearMusic program. Later in the fall, THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, also read by Streep, will be at Starbucks counters. Kudos to Random House for this coup of major visibility for audio!

THE ACE: On sale date for the Rabbit Ears new collections is August 22.